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Chamber of Torture, Hell, and Chamber of Death

The three great fears medieval people had were the fear of torture, death, and hell.

Medieval torture devices are exhibited in the torture chamber. In the centre of the room, there stands a torture rack constructed according to medieval drawings. The torture chamber can only be visited with a guide, for it is necessary for getting the proper experience. In addition to torture devices, the executioner’s profession and status in the Middle Ages and the Catholic Church’s attitudes toward heretics and witches are introduced as well.

The central theme in the chamber of death is death – one the great fears of the medieval people –, which was followed by either Heaven or Hell. To illustrate this subject, a fragment of the Dance of Death has been exhibited with the help of dummies who represent the emperor and the empress, the mayor and the bishop. The dummies stand alternately with skeletons. The Dance of Death motif, which was a major theme for several medieval artist, is introduced to the visitors, and medieval attitudes towards death are explained as well. In order to add excitement, there is a coffin from which, under the guide’s direction, a skeleton rises amidst the visitors.

Hell was the third greatest medieval fear. The room is built as a maze, and while finding one’s way through, one can learn about medieval people’s fancies about the horrors and tortures in Hell. Hell was reconstructed in 2015 and is now much larger and scarier than before.